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Digestive System of a Calf
A basic understanding on how a calf's digestive system works can help you raise healthier calves
that cost less!
Oesophageal
In nature a calf drinks slowly with its neck stretched out and produces a lot of saliva.
Rumen Groove
This action closes the esophageal groove so milk bypasses the rumen and enters the abomasum.
Reticulum
When milk enters the abomasum, rennin and other enzymes curd the milk. The whey is squeezed from
Abomasum
the abomasum and into the intestine for digestion. Milk curd is then broken down by enzymes in the
abomasum, before also passing into the intestine for absorption.
Why saliva production is essential for healthy calves.
Saliva is product by suckling slowly. Saliva balances the pH in the abomasum to help curd the milk and contains essential enzymes necessary
for fat digestion, as well as natural antibiotic properties. When a calf if fed fast, or from a pail it may not produce the saliva it needs for digestion.
This can cause the calf to suck on ears, navels, udders, and surroundings to try to produce the saliva it should have produced while suckling.
This is called cross suckling.
Fast feeding and insufficient salvia can result in a lack of curding, allowing whole milk to enter the small intestine. This leads to bacterial
fermentation and nutritional scours. E-Coli numbers multiply rapidly when in contact with raw milk. This is a leading cause of nutritional
scours in young calves.
Excellent saliva production by these
calves drinking from Milk Bar Teats.
Milk Bar Follow the Teat System for Healthy Calves!
Milk Bar Teats have a patented internal web that controls the flow rate, stopping calves gulping and encouraging the correct
suckling action required for good calf health. By using the Milk Bar Follow the Teat System you can raise healthy calves easily!
1) Training Phase Day 1 - 3
Use the Milk Bar Colostrum Teat to feed your calves essential colostrum. Milk Bar Colostrum Teats are soft for easy teaching and ensure
the correct suckling action occurs. Caution: Using a soft, fast feed teat for more than the first 5-6 feedings can lead to nutritional scours. Use for
fresh colostrum only.
2) Development Phase Day 4 - 10
Move the calf/s onto a new Milk Bar Teat. This teat stays with the calf until it is weaned for optimum health. Milk Bar Teats simulate the slow
natural suckling action required for correct digestion. The correct feeding rate helps curd formation, preventing raw milk entering the intestine
which is a leading cause of nutritional scours. Your calves will be more relaxed and cross suckling is greatly reduced or eliminated!
At Day 10 or when calves are staring to nibble grain the calves are ready to move into a group. If you do not have enough calves to move into
a group the calf can stay in this phase until there are enough calves to make a group. A 10 day old calf and a 20 day old calf can easily share a
group pen/hutch when using Milk Bar Teats. If you have enough calves to make a small group at this stage make sure the feeder has new Milk
Bar Teats fitted into it.
3) Growth Phase Day 10 - Weaning
Remove the teat from the individual feeder and put into the Milk Bar feeder of choice. This feeder will stay with these calves. Do not swap the
feeder to another group of calves as they will have their own teats and feeders.
An independent trial was done in the USA in October 2008, the results of which were presented at the American Dairy
Science Conference in Montreal, July 2009.
• 25 calves were reared in groups of 5 on Milk Bar Teats.
• Another 23 calves within the same shed were house in individual pens and fed from buckets.
• All calves received the same volume of milk, had free access to 18% calf pellets and fresh water.
• At 5 weeks the calves fed on Milk Bar Teats had gained 32% more weight and had consumed 30% more pellets.
Did you know?
When a calf is fed too much milk to fast without the correct suckling action, milk can enter the rumen and ferment.
Fermenting milk can form abnormal acids to lower the pH of the rumen. This can cause long term damage affecting
the growth and production potential of the animal. Milk Bar Teats replicate natural suckling and ensures all milk
enters the abomasum, NOT the rumen.